Eating Disorders

Eating disorders attract a considerable amount of media attention, and are currently being diagnosed more frequently. In general they affect more women than men, but the reasons why some women develop these disorders are not always very well understood. In this book the relationship between eating disorders and sexuality is discussed, and there is updated information on diagnosis and treatment. The specific conditions anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and obesity are then dealt with in turn. The book has been rewritten for this edition and includes sections on infertility and pregnancy in women with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. The management of the eating disorders has been brought up to date and some new case histories have been added to illustrate the changes. Eating disorders are now managed by less authoritarian treatment programmes, administered by teams of health professionals (rather than by individual doctors). The authors emphasize the importance of learning sensible eating and exercise patterns and the role of self-help goups for those recovering from eating disorders.